CENTERBURG – Laura (DeBoard) White, 93, of Centerburg, passed away Jan. 22, 2023, at KCH. Born March 30, 1929, to John and Mittie (Gore) DeBoard in Tazewell, Virginia.
The family moved to Ohio in 1931. Laura grew up in Mount Liberty, attending Mount Liberty Advent Christian Church, where she sang with her sister Annie weekly. She is a 1948 graduate of Centerburg High School, and after graduation she was employed by Montgomery Ward in Mount Vernon. Laura married her high school bus driver, Dessell W. White, May 8, 1949, and became a longtime Centerburg United Methodist Church member.
She lived her life as a devoted farm wife and mother of six. A lady with a green thumb, her passion for vegetable gardening, canning, freezing and flowers around her house kept her very busy. After her children were old enough, she went back to work at Milpar (military parts) in Westerville, then was a waitress for Grace Lankam at Halfway Inn outside of Centerburg, then for Isabelle Blanton as a waitress at a restaurant on Main Street in Centerburg and in Bangs at Knotty Pine restaurant.
Laura is survived by her sons, Steve and Randy White; daughters, Sharon Vogelsang and Gwendolyn Smith, both of Centerburg; 13 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild; and sister, Annie Kirby of Mississippi.
Preceded in death by her parents, and husband of 68 years, Dessell; sons, Stanley and Roger; twin brother, Glen (Shorty), Marvin, James, Arthur and Fitzhugh DeBoard; sisters, Trevel Arie McGinnis, Minnie Bird, Rachel Lawson and Helen Meier; son-in-law, Robert Smith; and grandson-in-law, Joshua Dickison.
Friends may call at the Johnson-Melick-Moreland Funeral Home, 49 W. Church St., Centerburg, Thursday from 4-7 p.m. Service will be held at Centerburg United Methodist Church, 65 S. Hartford Ave., Centerburg, Friday at 11 a.m., with Rev. Matt Skelton officiating. Interment Eastview Cemetery.
Contributions can be made to Centerburg United Methodist Church or Capitol City Hospice.
